Security barricades irk residents

RAWALPINDI - The residents of various localities of the city have established permanent barricades in their streets in the name of security but these blockades in the residential areas are creating mobility problems for the people living there.A survey of various localities of Rawalpindi and cantonment area showed that these barricades, in the name of security, are becoming a permanent nuisance for the residents of these localities who are facing difficulties in going to their residences, as in the evening these barricades were locked and they have to take a long round to reach their homes.The persons facing problems from these self-erected barricades in the name of security while talking to The Nation said that before erecting such blockades these people should have to seek a formal approval from the relevant civic body responsible for the maintenance of these areas but in most of the cases no formal approval from relevant body was taken.A group of residents living in Khayaban-e-Tanvir near Chaklala Scheme No. 3 said that they had lodged several complaints with Tehsil Municipal Administration Potohar Town but the authorities concerned were unmoved to the disadvantage of the people living in this colony.They said that the residents of Streets number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 in their written application asked the TMA officials to remove these illegal barriers permanently erected by some of the residents in these streets making their mobility extremely difficult but so far TMA officials have not taken any step to do the remedy. The application addressed to TMA carried the signatures of some 32 residents, most of them owned their houses in the area, and they all wanted removal of these illegal barriers installed by some of the residents and were using the streets in front of their houses as their courtyard.They said that they have to take a long round to reach their houses while the thoroughfares in the locality were shut to them in the name of security.Telling his ordeal a resident of Khyaban-e-Tanvir informed The Nation that a few days back his wife developed some serious health disorder at midnight and he had to move her immediately to hospital but it took him almost 15 minutes to come out on main road due to these barricades.These residents were critical of the apathy shown by the TMA Potohar Town towards their moral and legal obligation to remove these illegally erected barricades but instead of doing their duty the TMA official had referred the case to police officials, terming it a law and order matter, whereas it is purely a civic matter and in some cases the civic authorities had removed the illegally erected barricades in some of societies where the residents came up with complaints against the same.The residents of Khyaban-e-Tanvir appealed to the Punjab government to take notice of these irregularities on part of the civic bodies in the big cities like Rawalpindi and help end the ordeal residents are facing at the expense of illegal erection of these barricades in the name of security.

This news was published in The Nation newspaper. Read complete newspaper of 21-May-2014 here.